1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is relates generally to the field of computer manufacturing and more particularly to a mount for computer components.
2. Description of the Related Art
As computers have become a commodity, computer manufacturers have been faced with increasing competition. One result of this competition is that computer manufacturers have sought to decrease the time required to assemble a computer. Many computer components, such as floppy and hard disk drives, are supplied with threaded bores at standard locations and standard sizes so that the components may be secured into a computer mount with threaded machine screws during assembly. For example, the disk drive 10 of FIG. 1, shown upside-down, includes four threaded bores 15 at standard positions along its bottom surface 16. Also shown in FIG. 1 for the sake of completeness are power connectors 11, 12 and a data connector 13 on the rear vertical surface 14 of the drive 10.
Installing computer components with threaded machine screws in the bores 15 is time consuming, and therefore costly, because the computer components must be carefully handled during assembly and because care must be taken to ensure that the machine screws are installed correctly (e.g. not cross-threaded or over-tightened). Computer manufacturers have therefore sought to find alternatives to threaded machine screws for securing components to a computer chassis.
One alternative to using machine screws to secure a component such as a disk drive to a computer mount is to include special mounting tabs on the disk drive for securing the disk drive to a computer frame. However, there is no industry-recognized standard except for the threaded holes discussed above. Therefore, a computer manufacturer must make special provisions with a disk drive manufacturer in order to have special mounting tabs supplied with the drive. Unfortunately, such a special requirement will increase the cost of the drive, which makes this option unacceptable to many computer manufacturers. Additionally, purchasers of the computer may not be able to obtain replacements for failed components with such special tabs, which may make computers with such special tabs less desirable.
FIG. 2 illustrates one prior art solution to this problem in the form of a disk drive mount 100. The mount 100, which is sized to fit a standard 51/4" disk drive bay of a personal computer, is designed to accept a standard 51/4" floppy disk drive 10 (shown in phantom in FIG. 2) and secure it to a computer frame without the need for machine screws or special tabs. As used herein, 51/4" and 31/2" refer not to the actual width of the disk drive, but rather refer to standard widths and heights of floppy disk drives that accept 51/4" and 31/2" floppy disks, respectively. The mount 100 may be used with both hard and floppy 31/2" disk drives. The mount 100 is itself secured to a computer frame, or chassis (not shown in FIG. 2), in any manner known in the art, such as with sheet metal screws.
The mount 100 has two substantially parallel vertical walls 110 which are spaced approximately 31/2" apart to accept the disk drive 10. Each vertical wall 110 has two horizontal platforms 112 protruding therefrom toward the center of the mount 100. The horizontal platforms 112 are at the same height on the wall 110 and are positioned at a horizontal distance along the wall 110 to coincide with the location of standard threaded bores 15. An upstanding stud 114 protrudes from the upper surface of each horizontal platform 112. The maximum thickness of the upstanding stud 114 is slightly less than the inner diameter of the threaded bore 15 so that the upstanding stud 114 may be inserted easily into the threaded 15 bore.
When the disk drive 10 is placed into the mount 100 as shown in FIG. 2, each of the threaded bores 15 are aligned with an upstanding stud 114 and the upstanding studs 15 protrude into the threaded bores 15. The disk drive bottom surface 16 is in contact with and provides support to the horizontal platforms 112 of the mount 100. In this manner, the horizontal platforms 112 provide vertical support for the disk drive 10 and the upstanding studs 114 prevent horizontal translation of the drive 10.
The upstanding studs 114 do not fixedly engage with the threaded bores 15, but are merely inserted therein. Accordingly, it is necessary to vertically secure the drive 10 in the mount 100. This is accomplished by the two spring clips 120. The spring clips 120 exert a downward force on the drive 10 and urge the drive 10 into contact with the horizontal platforms 112. The spring clips 120 are deformable such that they may be moved upward and outward into an "open" position when the drive 10 is being installed in or removed from the mount 100.
The mount 100 is effective in securing a drive 10 to a computer chassis without the use of machine screws or special tabs on the drive 10. However, some problems with the mount 100 have been encountered. Chief among these is the amount of force that is required to move the spring clips 120 into an open position. Factory personnel have complained that the required force is too great and that fatigue results when many drives are installed. Another concern is that purchasers of computers with a mount 100 may damage a drive or be unable to remove a drive because of the amount of force required to move the spring clips 120 into an open position.
What is needed is a mount into which a standard disk drive may be easily and reliably installed without repeatability fatigue and without the use of machine screws.